The Grizzly Owls
By Night On My Bed
Self-released
By Annie Lynn White
By Night On My Bed is Americana, not so much in terms of rehashing history, or simply referencing the archaic, but instead capturing the mood of migrating across the country, careworn and exhausted, but convinced you’ll be stronger for the journey. In fact, Joseph and Jenny Androetti, the artists involved, cite their families’ Dust Bowl migrations to Bakersfield, CA as inspiration. Realistically, they needn’t do so, as the song titles give it away, specifically, “Rifles and Hemlines” and “I Am A Child Of the Dust Bowl.”
Every aspect of the album sits as a testament to their self-purported genre; even the liner art pictures absurdly overdressed ancestors being photographed beside their prize horse and clapboard barn. Jenny Androetti’s sweet voice sounds like some long-gone great-aunt, the spinster singing eerily to an infant from the newest generation from the netherworld. Most of the songs feature a beat like a horse clopping along in an old Western as cowboys squint against the glare of the sun.
There’s a nod or two toward Tom Waits in the darker songs, with stronger riffs accompanied by an occasional slide on the guitar. But Jenny’s voice and tone is all her own, and The Grizzly Owls could never be accused of sacrificing their own identity. Even the album itself identifies in a very specific way that would be difficult to duplicate without feeling redundant.
If there is any complaint to be had about the album, it’s certainly not to do with the actual composition and execution of the music. No, in this case it’s the brevity of the whole thing. It takes one by surprise to hear the first song so soon again. Did I doze off? Was my mind wandering too much? No, the album is just shy of 30 minutes. The lengths of the songs are just right, (although many are shorter than your typical pop song), there just aren’t enough of them.
By Night On My Bed is exactly what it’s meant to be, which is surprising considering how artistic it is. The art doesn’t impede the music, nor vice versa. It can be hard to find a good balance, but the Androettis managed it quite impressively.
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